


Dream to sleep

by NotPersephone



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, and no one loses a limb, but everyone's in character, post-season 3 finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 07:32:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8881471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotPersephone/pseuds/NotPersephone
Summary: Hannibal gazed at her with all sincerity.“You got hurt because of me. And I was not there to prevent it. I will ensure that you recover and feel secure.”





	

The news came suddenly. Bedelia saw the report minutes before receiving a call from Jack Crawford.

It did not feel real. She waited, expecting him to show up at her door again. But he did not.

The next day the doorbell rang and Bedelia was preparing for the inevitable journalists.

 Yet the man outside did not look like a journalist. Before she got a chance to speak, a clothed hand covered her mouth and she was pulled back inside. She tried to fight but her body became limp and her mind went blank.

When she briefly regained consciousness, she found herself in her own bed. She felt a pinch of pain in her arm. Then it all went dark again.

 

All of a sudden, she was awake and seated in her office. The chairs were gone and a dining table occupied the space instead. A lavish feast, with a giant roast in the middle, was laid out in front of her. Numbness was spreading over the lower half of her body. She looked down and saw, in horror, that her left leg was gone. She tried to scream but no sound came out.

There were raised voices coming from the distance. She grabbed a fork in the last attempt of self-defence. A voice was calling her name. It sounded familiar. But it couldn’t be.

A hand grabbed her arm. She tried to lift the fork but her strength had failed her. Then the darkness took over.

 

Bedelia began to regain consciousness. Sensing the light permeating the room, she opened her eyes. Her vision blurred, the last memory returned to her mind. She reached for her legs and, to her relief, her body was intact. It was only a dream. She was lying in bed but it was not her bedroom. The place seemed oddly known.

Through the haze, she saw a figure entering the room.

“Bedelia, you are awake,” the same voice she thought she heard before.

“Hannibal?” her voice sounded hoarse from disuse.

She tried to sit up but her head was heavy and felt off balance.

“Careful, take you time. You have been unconscious for a day. It will take a while for the drug effect to wear off.”

“Drug?” she managed to lift her head “What are talking about?”

“You were attacked in your home. Some people used you as bait to lure me out.”

He looked at her with a genuine worry.

“I am so sorry. They will not bother us again,” his eyes briefly turned crimson.

“Where are we?”

“In my house by the seaside. We will be safe here for now. No one will look for me here. Again.”

Bedelia did not know what to say, she felt overwhelmed.

“I will leave you to yourself,” he said and turned to leave the room.

 

Bedelia managed to stand up and took a moment to gather her thoughts before making her way to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror. Her hair was mussed and there were dark circles around her eyes. As if she hadn’t slept in days; but she did precisely that, didn’t she? She rolled up her sleeve and examined the marks left by the needle. No, it wasn’t sleep, just a drug induced state of oblivion. 

Her mind was still groggy but countless questions demanded answers.

She found Hannibal sitting in the living room area.

“Hannibal- “she sat down, not knowing where to start.

“I read the news, I spoke to Jack Crawford.”

“I have been resurrected,” Hannibal gave her a faint smile, “Yes, I have survived the fall, somehow, and managed to swim to the shore before the FBI arrived.”

“Alone?” Bedelia asked with caution.

“Alone. Will Graham have died. He sacrificed his life to kill me. And failed. The sea finished what I should have done back in Baltimore.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“Always looking after me, Dr Du Maurier,” Hannibal smiled.

“Will Graham was a failed experiment. He was an empty shell I tried to fill but ended up with nothing more than an imperfect mirror.”

He stood up and a wince of pain passed over his face.

“Hannibal, you are hurt.”

“I am fine Bedelia. You should focus on getting some rest.”

“No,” she stood up and approached him,” Please sit back down.”

She lifted his vest to reveal an unhealed wound.

“You need stitches.”

As she tended to his wound, she recalled their last day in Florence.

The last time she touched him.

Hannibal kept his gaze away, no doubt thinking about the same moment.

Unspoken words hang between them.

“Thank you,” he replied shyly when she finished,” You need to rest. I will stay here. The bedroom is yours.”

 

Sleep did not come easily. When she finally drifted away, the vision of her attack began to haunt her. She felt a hand on her neck and another one covering her mouth. She tried to cry for help but could not.

Bedelia woke up violently and became aware that she was screaming.

“Is everything all right?” Hannibal’s concerned voice came from the doorway.

“Yes, just a bad dream,” she attempted to sound calm, but she felt vulnerable and scared.

And she loathed the sentiment.

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

“That won’t be necessary,” she did not need to be reminded of her weakness.

Hannibal sat down on the chair in the corner.

“I will sit here for a moment. I hope you do not mind.”

Bedelia did not have the strength to argue with him, so she simply nodded and placed her head back on the pillow.

She spent the remaining of the night in an uneasy slumber.

When she woke up in the morning, Hannibal was still there.

 

Later that day he brought her clothes, she did not ask how he acquired them. Everything fitted perfectly. He still remembered her size.

They spent the day talking, slowly filling the space of all the years that had passed. They treaded with care. There were so many things they wanted to say to each other but did not know how to express them or where to begin.

 

The nightmares returned the following night.

Bedelia woke up again, her heart pounding, and found Hannibal sitting by her bed.

She wondered whether he was sleeping at all.

 

“You cannot keep spending the nights on a chair,” Bedelia approached Hannibal the following day.

“Is my presence making you uncomfortable?”

“No,” she replied “but I do not need to be looked after.”

Hannibal gazed at her with all sincerity.

“You got hurt because of me. And I was not there to prevent it. I will ensure that you recover and feel secure.”

She could tell by the determination in his eyes that he would not change his resolve.

“You ought to sleep in the bed. A chair is not an appropriate resting place for a wounded person.”

She hoped that he would at least accept her suggestion.

 

As the day drew to an end, Bedelia retired to bed, dreading the night.

She felt the mattress shifting as Hannibal joined her. He remained on the other side of the bed, keeping his distance.

The sleep came to her eventually, only to be disrupted abruptly by the recurring dreams.

Her hands were shaking and a tremor ran through her body.

“I am here Bedelia. You are safe, “Hannibal’s soft voice sounded behind her.

She turned to face him, meeting his deep, marron eyes.

Hannibal extended his hand and gently brushed his knuckles against her cheek. Then he pulled back, his gaze unsure, awaiting her reaction. Seconds passed until she closed the gap between them and pressed her face into his neck. His warmth was so familiar.

She thought she would never feel his embrace again. Tears filled her eyes and she pressed her body closer.

“I thought I lost you,” she could no longer hold her feelings.

“When I hit the water, you were the sole image in my mind,” he wrapped his arms around her, “I thought I lost you too.”

He touched his lips to her shoulder.

“I will never allow anybody to hurt you again,” he whispered against her skin, leaving a trail of soft kisses, until she met his lips with her own.

They kissed tenderly, hungrily; all the longing bubbling up from within them.

When they broke the kiss, Bedelia nuzzled his shoulder, finding her spot, the one she spent untold nights in Florence nestled against.

She allowed herself to relax in his embrace and drifted away as he stroke her hair.

The nightmares still lurked in the back of her mind but she was no longer frighten. She felt safe.

 

Two days later, Hannibal left for a few hours, making preparation for their departure. He returned in the evening and placed a small box on the table in front of Bedelia. She looked at him, perplexed.

“I was not allowed to retain possession of any personal items in the hospital, therefore we need a new set.”

Bedelia opened the box to reveal two matching wedding rings.

 

They made it safely through airport security and boarded the plane.

Hannibal held Bedelia’s hand and smiled.

He looked forward to dancing the tango with her.

**Author's Note:**

> And they lived happily, murderously ever after.  
> You can always count on me to give them the ending they truly deserve.
> 
> Thank you to the lovely tumblr anon who send me this prompt. This is the only season 4 I would ever watch.
> 
> Any questions or suggestions, find me at http://bedeliainwonderland.tumblr.com/


End file.
